COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2022 Rule of Law Report Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2022 Rule of Law Report The rule of law situation in the European Union
Date: 2022-07-13
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: Czechia, coronavirus disease, corruption, democracy, epidemic, independence of the judiciary, infringement of EU law, pluralism in the media, political rights, rule of law

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Luxembourg, 13.7.2022  SWD(2022) 503 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2022 Rule of Law Report        Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2022 Rule of Law Report          The rule of law situation in the European Union {COM(2022) 500 final} - {SWD(2022) 501 final} - {SWD(2022) 502 final} - {SWD(2022) 504 final} - {SWD(2022) 505 final} - {SWD(2022) 506 final} - {SWD(2022) 507 final} - {SWD(2022) 508 final} - {SWD(2022) 509 final} - {SWD(2022) 510 final} - {SWD(2022) 511 final} - {SWD(2022) 512 final} - {SWD(2022) 513 final} - {SWD(2022) 514 final} - {SWD(2022) 515 final} - {SWD(2022) 516 final} - {SWD(2022) 517 final} - {SWD(2022) 518 final} - {SWD(2022) 519 final} - {SWD(2022) 520 final} - {SWD(2022) 521 final} - {SWD(2022) 522 final} - {SWD(2022) 523 final} - {SWD(2022) 524 final} - {SWD(2022) 525 final} - {SWD(2022) 526 final} - {SWD(2022) 527 final}  
 
 
ABSTRACT 

The new Government has announced several reforms related to the Czech justice system, some 
of which follow up on efforts of the previous Government. A planned reform of disciplinary 
proceedings against judges aims to introduce the possibility to appeal and a new reform of the 
prosecution service is  under preparation, introducing, among others, changes  relating to  the 
term of office and dismissal of the Prosecutor General. Both initiatives aim to further strengthen 
the independence of the justice system. An amendment of the selection procedure for judges 
has entered into force. Efforts to improve the digitalisation of justice, including publication of 
judgments and preparation of a digital file management system, progress slowly. Efficiency of 
proceedings has improved in the administrative justice system.  

The legal and institutional framework to address corruption is broadly in place, and the new 
Government has prioritised some anti-corruption measures. The Government is drafting a new 
Anti-Corruption Strategy to be implemented as of 2023 but concerns exist over the effective 
and consistent implementation of all measures in the current strategy and action plan. Several 
planned reforms were not adopted before the end of the parliamentary term in 2021, including 
on lobbying, whistleblowing, the Supreme Audit Office mandate, and a code of conduct for 
members of Parliament. The new Government has announced its intention to continue to fight 
corruption,  including  through  pending  legislative  reforms  on  conflicts  of  interest  and 
whistleblower protection. Cases of high-level corruption remain a concern, in particular in a 
context of delayed proceedings. In addition, the use of presidential pardoning power in a high-
level corruption case led to public debate. Ethics rules for both  chambers of the Parliament 
remain lacking. Rules on revolving doors for members of Government, Parliament and civil 
service remain limited. An evaluation of the legislation on political party financing is planned. 

Constitutional  rules  guarantee  freedom  of  expression  and  the  right  to  information.  Rules  to 
enhance transparency of beneficial ownership of media outlets enacted in 2021 still require full 
implementation and concerns persist with regard to the lack of full ownership transparency as 
well as conflict of interests. The independence of the Czech media regulator is expected to be 
further enhanced, while political controversies affecting Czech public service television have 
led to calls to overhaul the Czech Television Act given that the current system does not prevent 
the political majority in  the Chamber of Deputies, via political influence over the Councils, 
from securing the dismissal of a Director-General. Unlike the case with  most sectors of the 
economy, the media sector did not benefit from any  specific support scheme to  counter the 
effects  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic.  There  have  been  no  developments  with  regard  to  state 
advertising and access to information. Support for the needs of journalists and their working 
conditions is missing while harassment of journalists remains part of the political landscape. 

The use of the accelerated legislative procedure decreased. The validity of the Pandemic Act 
has been extended until November 2022. The Ministry of Health conducted an internal audit 
of the adoption process of pandemic measures, after several had been annulled by courts. Work 
to  enhance the participation  of civil society organisations in  the decision-making process  is 
ongoing. While the Ombudsperson performs some of the tasks of the National Human Rights 
Institution (NHRI), other typical tasks remain unassigned and there are no specific plans to 
establish  an  NHRI.  Statements  of  the  Ombudsperson  regarding  Roma  or  LGBTIQ  people 
continued to raise concerns. Access to public funding of civil society organisation raises some 
concerns.  The  space  for  civil  society  has  been  downgraded  from  open  to  narrowed  by 
observers. 

1 

 
RECOMMENDATIONS 

In addition  to  recalling  the commitments made under the national  Recovery and Resilience 
Plan relating to certain aspects of the justice system and the anti-corruption framework, it is 
recommended to Czechia to:  

  Take forward the reform of the prosecution service retaining the original aim to introduce 
safeguards for the dismissal of the Prosecutor General and other chief public prosecutors, 
taking  into  account  European  standards  on  the  independence  and  autonomy  of  the 
prosecution.  

  Take  measures  to  reduce  the  length  of  proceedings  to  ensure  a  robust  track  record  of 

investigations, prosecutions and final judgments in high-level corruption cases. 

  Strengthen the integrity framework for members of Parliament, in particular by ensuring 

that Codes of Ethics are in place for both Houses of Parliament. 

  Complete  the  revision  of  legislation  on  asset  declarations  and  on  conflict  of  interests, 
including  by  clarifying  the  definition  of  beneficial  ownership  and  progress  with  further 
reforms relating to transparency of information on media ownership.   

  Strengthen  the  rules  and  mechanisms  to  enhance  the  independent  governance  of  public 

service media taking into account European standards on public service media. 

  Take steps to establish a National Human Rights Institution taking into account the UN 

Paris Principles.  

2 

 
I. 

JUSTICE SYSTEM  

The Czech justice system  is  composed of 86 district  courts, eight  regional  courts, two high 
courts, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court1. The Constitutional Court 
is  tasked  with  guaranteeing  constitutionality  of  legislation,  and  with  the  protection  of 
fundamental  human  rights  and  freedoms.  The  central  body  of  state  responsible  for  the 
administration of the courts is the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice performs state 
administration  of  high,  regional  and  district  courts  to  the  extent  stipulated  by  law2,  either 
directly or through the presidents of these courts. These various authorities take into account 
the opinions of the relevant judicial councils, which are established at the Supreme Court, the 
Supreme Administrative Court, high courts, regional courts and larger district courts. Judges 
are  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  Republic,  from  candidates  selected  by  selection 
committees and presented by the Minister of Justice. The Prosecution Service is part of the 
executive branch3. Public prosecutors are appointed into their office for an indefinite time by 
the Minister of Justice on a proposal from the Prosecutor General. The Prosecutor General is 
appointed and recalled by the Government on a proposal from the Minister of Justice. Czechia 
participates  in  the  European  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office  (EPPO).  The  Bar  Association  is 
established by law and is independent. It performs public administration in the area of the legal 
profession and provides self-regulation for the entire profession. The self-governing power of 
the Bar is limited by the power of the Minister of Justice in the areas listed by law. 

Independence  

The level of perceived judicial independence in Czechia continues to be average among 
both the general public and companies. Overall, 57% of the general population and 55% of 
companies perceive the level of independence of courts and judges to be ‘fairly or very good’ 
in 20224. According to data in the 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard, both figures have increased in 
comparison  to  2021  (51%  for  the  general  public  and  51%  for  companies),  as  well  as  in 
comparison to 2016 (47% for the general public and 37% for companies). 

The new Government has announced several reform plans, including a re-tabling of the 
reform  of  the  system  of  disciplinary  proceedings  against  judges.  As  a  general  rule, 
legislative proceedings that are not concluded before parliamentary elections are not carried 
over to the next mandate period and if a newly elected Government intends to continue with 
the process, it has to submit a new legislative proposal. This was the case for several legislative 
proposals referred to in the 2021 Rule of Law Report5, which lapsed after the October 2021 
parliamentary elections, notably the amendment of the Act on proceedings relating to judges6 
and the reform of prosecution service (see below in this Section). The Programme manifesto 
of the new Government formed after the elections announced the intention to pursue several 

1   In addition, specialised administrative chambers  within regional courts act as administrative courts of  first 

instance.  

2   Act No. 6/2002 Coll., On Courts and Judges. 
3   Art. 80 of the Constitution, which is included in Part Three, the Executive Branch. 
4   Figures 50 and 52, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard. The level of perceived judicial independence is categorised 
as follows: very low (below 30% of respondents perceive judicial independence as fairly good and very good); 
low (between 30-39%), average (between 40-59%), high (between 60-75%), very high (above 75%). 

5   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, pp. 2-4. 
6  Amendment of the Act on proceedings relating to judges, public prosecutors and court executors, as amended 

(Act No. 7/2002 Coll.).  

3 

 
                                                 
reforms related to the justice system7. The envisaged changes include a reform of the criminal 
and  civil  procedure  codes8,  further  digitalisation  of  the  justice  system  (see  below  in  this 
Section)  and  protection  of  the  activities  of  the  Bar  Association  and  other  professional 
associations.  The  Ministry  of  Justice  started  preparations  to  re-submit9  the  reform  of  the 
disciplinary procedure against judges10, retaining the original aim to introduce the possibility 
to  appeal11  decisions  taken  by  a  disciplinary  court12.  This  aim  is  consistent  with  European 
standards13 and follows a GRECO recommendation14. 

The amended selection procedures for judges entered into force. As reported in the 2021 
Rule of Law Report15, the amendment of the Act on courts and judges, adopted in June 202116, 
aims to set up a transparent and uniform system of recruitment  and selection of judges and 
court presidents, whereas previously this procedure was not regulated in the legislation. The 
amendment  entered  into  force  on  1  January  202217.  The  first  series  of  selection  procedures 
under the new legislation  are currently ongoing18. Stakeholders have welcomed the change, 
stating that it improves the transparency and consistency of the selection process19, with the 
College of Regional Court Presidents calling for amendments of certain technical aspects in 
the  law  and  implementing  decree  to  ensure  a  smooth  selection  process20.  In  reaction,  the 
Ministry  of  Justice  published  a  clarification  of  several  provisions  of  the  legislation  and 
conducts a further analysis of potential ambiguities21. A key feature of the new system is the 

7   Program manifesto of the Government of 7 January 2022.  
8   Working groups for the preparation of the new criminal and civil procedure code have been established. Input 

from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 21. 

9   To be noted that as part of the national Recovery and Resilience plan, Czechia has committed to adopt the act 
on proceedings in cases of judges, prosecutors and bailiffs; European Commission, Annex to the Proposal for 
a Council Implementing Decision on the approval of the assessment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan for 
Czechia, p. 129-131. 

10   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 4. 
11   It is currently possible to request reopening of the proceedings if previously unknown information comes to 
light, and it is also possible to file a constitutional complaint; these procedures are however not considered to 
constitute standard judicial review.  

12   Information provided in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Ministry of Justice. 
13   Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, para 69; Venice 
Commission,  Report  on  the  Independence  of  the  Judicial  System  Part  II:  The  Prosecution  Service  (CDL-
AD(2010)004), para 43; Venice Commission, Rule of Law Checklist (CDL-AD(2016)007).  

14   GRECO Fourth Evaluation Round  – Evaluation Report, recommendation ix, introducing the possibility for 

judges to challenge disciplinary decisions including for dismissal before a court. 

15   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 2. 
16   Act No. 218/2021, amending Act No. 6/2002 Coll., on courts, judges, lay judges and administration of courts 

and on amendment to some other acts.  

17   Act No. 218/2021, Art. XI; Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 1. To be noted that as part 
of the national Recovery and Resilience Plan, Czechia has committed to adopt the Courts and Judges Act; 
European Commission, Annex to the Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision on the approval of the 
assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Czechia, p. 129-130.  

18   Information received from the Ministry of Justice. 
19   Contribution  from  the  Network  for  Protection  of  Democracy  for  the  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  6; 
Information received in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Czech Union of Judges and the 
Czech Bar Association. 

20   Česká justice (2022), College of Court Presidents: Amendment of the Act on courts and judges complicated 

the selection of new presidents. 
from 

21   Information 

received 

at 
of 
https://justice.cz/web/msp/dulezite-informace?clanek=stanovisko-ministerstva-spravedlnosti-k-vykladovym-
otazkam-souvisejicim-s-vyberem-soudcu. 

the  Ministry 

Justice.  The 

clarification 

available 

is 

4 

 
                                                 
composition of the selection committees with majority of judges22, which is consistent with 
European standards23.  

The Ministry of Justice started preparing a reform of the prosecution service. A reform 
of the prosecution service has long been a topic of political debate24 and forms part of GRECO 
recommendations25.  The  Ministry  of  Justice  is  working  on  a  new  proposal,  scheduled  for 
submission to the Government in December 202226. It is planned to include27 a fixed term of 
office for the Prosecutor General and other chief prosecutors28, and to stipulate that they can 
be dismissed only as a result of disciplinary proceedings29, which would be consistent with 
European standards30.  

Quality  

Digitalisation  of  justice  progresses  slowly.  While  the  work  on  the  digitalisation  projects 
mentioned in the 2021 Rule of Law Report 31, most notably the e-file and a database of court 
decisions,  continues32,  stakeholders  point  to  the  generally  slow  progress  and  delays  in  the 
digitalisation of justice33. Although procedural rules allowing digital technology in courts have 
been in place34, the actual use of digital technology and secure electronic communication tools 
by courts and prosecution services is very low35. The case management system can still be used 
only in proceedings regarding orders for payment, judges and staff cannot yet, across the board, 
work securely remotely, and it is not possible to communicate securely electronically between 

22  The committee for selection of judges has five members. Two are employees of the Ministry of Justice, two 
are judges appointed on the proposal of a president of respective regional court and one is a judge appointed 
on  a  joint  proposal  of  the  presidents  on  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  Supreme  Administrative  Court.  The 
committee  for  selection  of  court  presidents  have  five  members;  its  composition  varies  depending  on  the 
instance of the court, but in general one member is Deputy Minister of Justice, one expert on organization of 
courts and three court presidents. Secs. 105e and 116(3) of Act No. 6/2002 as amended. 

23   Sec. 105e and 116 of Act No. 6/2002 as amended by Act No. 218/2021. Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 

of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, para. 47.  

24   The  previous  Government  prepared  a  draft  reform  of  the  prosecution  service,  which  was  abandoned  after 
public criticism. For further information see the 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law 
situation in Czechia, p. 3 and the 2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in 
Czechia, pp. 3-4. 

25   GRECO Fourth Evaluation Round – Evaluation Report, recommendations x, xi, on recruitment and promotion 
of public prosecutors and the judicial review of their decisions, and on the appointment and dismissal of the 
Prosecutor General and other chief public prosecutors.  

26   Information received in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Office of the Prosecutor General, 

and the Ministry of Justice. 

27   Information received in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Office of the Prosecutor General, 

and the Ministry of Justice. 

28   Under  the  current  legislation  the  Prosecutor  General  and  chief  prosecutors  are  appointed  for  an  indefinite 

period.  

29   Currently the Prosecutor General may be dismissed by the Government on a proposal of the Minister of Justice 

without stating reasons.  

30   Venice Commission, Report on European standards as regards the independence of the judicial system: Part 
II – The Prosecution service (CDL-AD(2010)040), para. 39: ‘The law on the prosecutor’s office should clearly 
define the conditions of the Prosecutor’s [General] pre-term dismissal’. 

31   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 5.  
32   Input  from Czechia  for the 2022 Rule of  Law Report,  p. 3 and information provided in the context of the 

country visit to Czechia from the Ministry of Justice.  

33   Contribution  from  Glopolis  for  the  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  14;  Contribution  from  the  Network  for 

Protection of Democracy for the 2022 Rule of Law Report., p. 8. 

34   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 5.  
35   Figures 42, 43, 44 and 45, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard.  

5 

 
                                                 
courts and lawyers, notaries and bailiffs or other judicial officers36. With the e-file system not 
yet available, possibilities for court users to initiate proceedings electronically and follow them 
online are limited37. Following an amendment of the Act on Courts and Judges, which came 
into effect on 9 June 2021, district, regional and high courts will be obliged to publish  their 
final judgments38, as of 1 July 2022, in a publicly accessible database managed by the Ministry 
of Justice39. The database is supported by a customised anonymisation application and already 
operating in a pilot stage40.  

The  Ministry  of  Justice  is  adjusting  the  method  of  determination  of  the  number  and 
distribution  of  judicial  posts,  while  salaries  of  judges  have  been  frozen.  Presidents  of 
regional courts suggested to the Ministry of Justice an adjustment of the method based on which 
the Ministry determines the number of judicial posts at each court. The Ministry is currently 
analysing the document41. This comes in reaction to concerns that the existing methodology 
did not reflect the real workload of courts, as reported in the 2021 Rule of Law Report42. The 
salaries of judges and other high level officials43, which are normally adjusted automatically 
every year44, have been frozen at the same level as in 202045 due to the economic consequences 
of the COVID-19 pandemic46, a fact which was criticised by judges47 and prosecutors48. 

Efficiency 

Efficiency of proceedings in administrative cases has improved. While the justice system 
overall  performs  efficiently,  there  is  room  for  improvement  in  the  length  of  administrative 
cases, as reported in the 2020 and 2021 Rule of Law Reports49. Over the past years, however, 
the estimated length of administrative cases has been decreasing (to 317 days in first instance 
courts in 2020 compared to 356 days in 2019 and 421 days in 2016)50. The clearance rate has 
also improved (113 % at first instance courts in 2020 compared to 107 % in 2019 and 88 % in 
201851)  suggesting  that  courts  continue  to  be  able  to  address  backlogs.  This  positive 
development could be the result of a continued effort to increase the number of judges and staff 

36   Figures 43 and 44, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
37   Figure 46, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
38  To the extent defined by a ministerial decree. Section 118a of Act No. 6/2002 Coll. 
39   Art. I, point 23 of Act No. 218/2021.  
40   Information provided in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Ministry of Justice. The database 

is accessible at https://rozhodnuti.justice.cz/soudnirozhodnuti/.  

41   Information received in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Ministry of Justice and the Czech 

Union of Judges.  

42   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 6. 
43   Including members of Parliament, the President of the Republic, members of the National Audit Office. Sec. 

1 of Act No. 236/1995.  

44   The salaries of judges and other high level officials are presidents are based on the average salary counted by 
the Czech Statistical Office, and therefore change in relation to change of the average salary. Sec. 3 of Act No. 
236/1995. Salaries of civil servants are regulated by different legislation. 

45   Act No. 18/2022, amending Act No. 236/1995. 
46   Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 2. 
47   Statement of the Czech Union of Judges of 20 January 2022.  
48   Opinion of the Czech Union of Public Prosecutors on salary cuts in the judiciary of 7 January 2022. 
49   2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 6, 2021 Rule of Law 

Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 5. 

50   Figure 9, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
51   Figure 13, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard.  

6 

 
                                                 
in  administrative  departments  of  courts52.  The  estimated  length  of  litigious  civil  and 
commercial cases, while overall low, increased in 2020 (to 160 days in the first instance in 
2020 compared to 140 days in 2019)53, possibly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and 
related measures.  

II. 

ANTI-CORRUPTION FRAMEWORK  

Czechia has the legislative and institutional framework to prevent and fight corruption largely 
in place. The Conflicts of Interest and Anti-Corruption Department of the Ministry of Justice 
is in charge of the coordination and monitoring of the national Anti-Corruption Strategy 2018-
2022, which is Czechia’s strategic framework for anti-corruption at the governmental level. 
The Anti-Corruption Council acts as an advisory body to the Government. In cooperation with 
the prosecution service, the National Organised Crime Agency is the police unit with country-
wide  competence  to  investigate  high-level  corruption  offences54.  The  Financial  Analytical 
Office acts as Czechia’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The Supreme Audit Office reviews the 
state’s management of public revenue and expenditure and its findings may contribute to the 
identification of corruption risks. 

The perception among experts and business executives is that the level of corruption in 
the  public  sector  remains  relatively  high.  In  the  2021  Corruption  Perceptions  Index  by 
Transparency International, Czechia scores 54/100 and ranks 14th in the European Union and 
49th globally55. This perception has been relatively stable over the past five years56. The 2022 
Special  Eurobarometer  on  Corruption  shows  that  78%  of  respondents  consider  corruption 
widespread in their country (EU average 68%) and 20% of respondents feel personally affected 
by  corruption  in  their  daily  lives  (EU  average  24%)57.  As  regards  businesses,  67%  of 
companies consider that corruption is widespread (EU average 63%) and 34% consider that 
that corruption is a problem when doing business (EU average 34%)58. Furthermore, 29% of 
respondents find that there are enough successful prosecutions to deter people from  corrupt 
practices  (EU  average  34%)59,  while  27%  of  companies  believe  that  people  and  businesses 
caught for bribing a senior official are appropriately punished (EU average 29%)60.  

52   Ministry of Justice (2021),  Czech Justice 2020 Annual Statistical Report; input from Czechia for the 2022 

Rule of Law Report, p. 5.  

53   Figure 7, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
54   Other cases of corruption are dealt with by regional directorates of the police, with the National Organised 
Crime Agency being able to take over the cases at any time. This Agency also serves as a law enforcement 
contact point for OLAF as regards crimes against financial interest of the EU. 

55   Transparency  International  (2022),  Corruption  Perceptions  Index  2021,  pp.  2-3.  The  level  of  perceived 
corruption  is  categorised  as  follows:  low  (the  perception  among  experts  and  business  executives  of  public 
sector corruption scores above 79); relatively low (scores between 79-60), relatively high (scores between 59-
50), high (scores below 50). 

56   In 2017 the score was 57, while, in 2021, the score is 54. The score significantly increases/decreases when it 
changes  more  than  five  points;  improves/deteriorates  (changes  between  4-5  points);  is  relatively  stable 
(changes from 1-3 points) in the last five years. 

57   Special Eurobarometer 523 on Corruption (2022). The Eurobarometer data on citizens’ corruption perception 
and experience is updated every second year. The previous data set is the Special Eurobarometer 502 (2020). 
58   Flash Eurobarometer 507 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2022). The Eurobarometer 
data on business attitudes towards corruption as is updated every second year. The previous data set is the 
Flash Eurobarometer 482 (2019). 

59   Special Eurobarometer 523 on Corruption (2022). 
60   Flash Eurobarometer 507 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2022). 

7 

 
                                                 
The Anti-Corruption Strategy 2018-2022 is in its last year of implementation, and a new 
strategy  is  being  developed.  The  Anti-Corruption  Plan  2021-202261  continues  to  be 
implemented, as part of the last year of the 2018-2022 Anti-Corruption Strategy62. The main 
priorities  of  the  plan  are  an  effective  and  independent  government,  transparency  and  open 
access to information, the efficient use of state property, and the development of civil society. 
Main  legislative  measures  included  are  the  adoption  of  the  whistleblowing  and  lobbying 
legislation (see below in this Section)63. While only an interim evaluation of the 2021-2022 
action plan was carried out (as the action plan is still being implemented)64, it shows that the 
majority of measures were sucessfully implemented although delays occurred in the Parliament 
with regards to draft legislation, the introduction of some sector-specific measures in the energy 
and health sectors, and the adoption of the open government plan65. Nonetheless, stakeholders 
expressed concerns over the effective and consistent implementation of all measures identified 
in the yearly action plans, in particular regarding the timely completion of actions under the 
plans  and  the  political  will  to  actually  move  forward  and  adopt  some  of  the  envisaged 
legislative  reforms  in  the  Parliament66.  The  drafting  of  a  new  Anti-Corruption  Strategy  is 
proceeding,  with  a  stakeholder  consultation  ongoing  and  the  adoption  by  the  government 
foreseen  by  the  end  of  202267.  The  Government  intends  to  take  on  board  conclusions  of 
previous  evaluations  and  lessons  learned  in  the  new  strategy68.  The  Strategy  for  the  Fight 
against  Fraud  and  Corruption  within  EU  Funds  remains  in  force  without  changes,  but  is 
expected to be revised by the end of the year to introduce new EU frameworks, and a specific 
action plan for 2022 was adopted69. A new corruption measuring methodology is also under 
development70. 

The  Government  has  announced  its  intention  to  continue  reforms  to  fight  corruption 
although the role of the Anti-Corruption Council remains unclear. The new Government, 
which took office in January 2022, has announced its intention to strengthen the fight against 
corruption,  including  through  the  adoption  of  a  number  of  pending  legislative  reforms  on 
conflicts  of  interest  and  whistleblower  protection  (see  below  in  this  Section)71.  Questions 
remain over how the Anti-Corruption Council will fulfil its role as  an advisory body to the 
Government. While the Council has not yet met since the new Government was appointed, the 

61   2021 Rule of law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, pp. 6-7. 
62   The Anti-Corruption Strategy 2018-2022 has been implemented through four dedicated action plans for the 
years:  2018,  2019,  2020  and  2021-2022).  Input  from  Czechia  for  the  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  9  and 
Ministry of Justice (2021), Anti-Corruption Action Plan for 2021 and 2022.  

63   Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 9 and Ministry of Justice (2018), Government concept 

of the fight against corruption for the years 2018 to 2022. 

64   Ministry of Justice (2022), Evaluation of the implementation of the measures listed in the Anti-Corruption 

Action Plan for 2021 and 2022. 

65   Ministry of Justice (2022), Evaluation of the implementation of the measures listed in the  Anti-Corruption 

Action Plan for 2021 and 2022. 

66   Contribution from Síť na ochranu demokracie for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 10-11  
67   Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Czechia. 
68   Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Czechia and Ministry 

of Justice (2021), Anti-Corruption Action Plan for 2021 and 2022.  

69   Written contribution from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Regional Development in the context 
of the country visit to Czechia. See also 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Czechia, p. 8. 

70   As required under the Czech Recovery and Resilience Plan. See European Commission, Annex to the Proposal 
for a Council Implementing Decision on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for 
Czechia, pp. 129-130. 

71   Czech Government (2022), Government Program Statement – Justice and Law.  

8 

 
                                                 
Ministry of Justice foresees no changes in its functioning72. Some stakeholders have pointed 
out that more regular meetings of the Council, which currently meets once per year, could be 
beneficial  for  highlighting  challenges  and  giving  input  to  the  government’s  anti-corruption 
policy73. 

Corruption-related investigations, prosecutions and convictions remain at a stable level, 
with a generally lower occurrence of corruption attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
In 2021, the Czech law enforcement authorities opened 150 corruption-related investigations  
(compared to 180 in 2020) and prosecuted 140 individuals for corruption offences or suspicions 
thereof (compared to 180 individuals in 2020)74. In total, 134 persons were brought before a 
court (compared to 169 in 2020)75, while 114 got convicted for corruption in the course of 2021 
(compared  to  111  individuals  in  2020).  Last  year  has  seen  15  acquittals  for  corruption 
(compared to  45  in  the  previous  year)76.  Law enforcement authorities  caution that statistics 
fluctuated  during  2020  and  2021  due  to  the  effects  of  COVID-19  measures,  in  particular 
lockdowns, with an overall lower crime rate seen than the period before the pandemic77.  

High-level corruption cases remain a point of attention due to delays in proceedings while 
the  use  of  presidential  pardoning  power  in  a  high-level  corruption  case  led  to  public 
debate. A number of high-level corruption investigations and cases involving both former and 
current high-level officials78 continue, including in relation to subsidy fraud. While the justice 
system is  generally functioning efficiently (see Section I), concerns over its performance in 
such high-level corruption cases exist due to the length of the proceedings at all stages of the 
process including the investigation, prosecution and adjudication79. Concerns remain80 in some 
instances regarding the management and distribution  of EU funds, with  the Czech Court of 
Audit  indicating  a  relative  increase  in  the  amount  of  reported  irregularities  and  suspected 

72   Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Czechia; Ministry of 
Justice, Government Council for the Coordination of the Fight against Corruption. The previous government 
had modified the mandate of the Anti-Corruption Council in 2018 and 2019.  

73   Information received in the context of the country visit to Czechia from civil society organisation Frank Bold. 
74   Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, statistical annex. 
75   This includes: indictments, motions for punishments, and agreements on guilt and punishment. 
76   Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, statistical annex. 
77   Information received from the National Organised Crime Agency and the Prosecution Service in the context 

of the country visit to Czechia.  

78   In one case involving former Prime Minister Babis, who was indicted in a case linked to subsidy fraud, the 
public  prosecutor  recommended  a  3-year  suspended  sentence  and  a  fine  of  CZK  10  million.  The  fraud 
allegedly took place in 2008 and charges were already brought forward for the first time in 2016. Associated 
Press  (2022),’Former  Czech  Prime  Minister  Babiš  indicted  in  fraud  case’.  Seznam  Zprávy  (2022),  ‘The 
prosecutor does not demand imprisonment for Babis. Asks for conditional sentence and 10 million fine’. Other 
examples of high-level corruption cases include the prosecution of two judges, a high-ranking ministry official 
and a number of cases in municipal councils. Information received from the National Organised Crime Agency 
and the prosecution service in the context of the country visit to Czechia.  

79   Contribution from Glopolis for the 2022 Rule of law Report, pp. 15-16 and 19-20; contribution from Síť na 
ochranu demokracie for the 2022 Rule of Law  Report,  p. 11. See also Transparency International Czechia 
(2022), Conflict of Interest of Andrej Babis. 

  The authorities state that the delays are often caused by the complexity and opacity of high-level corruption 

cases. 

80   2021  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law  situation  in  Czechia,  p.  8  and  information 

received from the National Organised Crime Agency in the context of the country visit to Czechia. 

9 

 
                                                 
fraudulent  behaviour  in  201981  while  the  European  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office82  opened  or 
continued  34  investigations  in  202183  The  EU  Anti-Fraud  Office  (OLAF)  reports  Czech 
authorities  issued  indictments  in  one  case  and  dismissed  six  in  cases  where  OLAF  sent 
recommendations to the national authorities between 2017-202184. The results of the European 
Commission audit of 23 April 2021, referred to in the 2021 Report85, have been taken forward 
by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for further investigation. The use of the presidential 
pardoning power in a high-level corruption case led to an intense public debate86. 

Resources of and cooperation between institutions in the fight against corruption remain 
at a good level overall. The police and the Prosecution Service consider that the resources87 
and  the  level  of  specialisation  of  investigators  and  prosecutors,  as  well  as  their  access  to 
relevant  information,  is  sufficient  to  carry  out  their  tasks  in  the  repression  of  corruption. 
Cooperation between the prosecution service, police and other agencies such as the Financial 
Intelligence Unit, tax and customs continues to function well.88 The analytical capacity of the 
police  is  being  evaluated.  The  police  plan  to  pilot  a  uniform  analytical  tool  in  their 
investigations  as  of  2023,  which  should  further  strengthen  analytical  capacity  also  in 
corruption-related investigations. Work on these initiatives continues but was delayed by the 
COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine89.  

Enforcement in foreign bribery cases remains limited although structures are in place. 
Czechia fulfilled an additional recommendation of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in 
relation  to  the  automatic  publishing  of  court  judgments  in  foreign  bribery  cases.  The  main 
outstanding recommendations focus on legislation related to whistleblowers (see below in this 
Section) and the independence of prosecutors and courts (see Section I)90 While the necessary 
structures  are  in  place,  only  a  limited  number  of  cases  are  detected  and  prosecuted91.  An 

81   Czech  Court  of  Audit  (2022),  EU  Report  2021  -  Report  on  the  EU  Financial  Management  in  the  Czech 

Republic, pp. 84-86. 

82  The National Organized Crime Agency has supported the new role of European Public Prosecutors’ Office by 

including cooperation with this Office within training for investigators. 

83   EPPO, Annual Report 2021 – Czechia. 
84  No  decision  was  taken  in  further  3  cases.  When  OLAF  concludes  an  investigation,  it  often  issues 
recommendations to the competent national and European authorities. OLAF invites these authorities to take 
action  to  redress  the  fraud,  corruption  or  other  illegal  activity  uncovered  by  the  investigation.  OLAF’s 
recommendations are intended to protect the EU budget and to uphold the rule of law. They help to ensure 
that OLAF’s investigations act as a deterrent to potential fraudsters. OLAF Annual Report 2021, p. 45 and 51. 

85   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 8. 
86   Radio  Prague  International  (2022),  ‘Czech  president  sparks  outrage  with  controversial  pardon’  and  Ceska 

Televize (2022), ‘Zeman justified his pardon: Balak did not get rich from the Lanska Obora case’.  

87   Human resources allocated to the Prosecution Service responsible for the prosecution of corruption consist of 
327 public prosecutors specialised in corruption, including 22 prosecutors at the Prosecutor-General Office, 
46 at the High Public Prosecution Offices, 71 at the Regional Public Prosecutors Offices, 188 at the District 
Public Prosecutors Offices. Written contribution from the Prosecution Service in the context of the country 
visit to Czechia. 

88   2021  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law  situation  in  Czechia,  p.  8  and  information 
received from the National Organised Crime Agency and the prosecution service in the context of the country 
visit to Czechia. In particular, the Tax Cobra programme was cited as an example of effective inter-agency 
cooperation in the fight against tax avoidance and tax fraud.  

89   Information received from the Ministry of Interior in the context of the country visit to Czechia and National 

Organised Crime Agency (2021), Annual Report 2020, p. 50. 
90   OECD (2021), Addendum to the follow-up to Phase 4 Report. 
91   Information received from the prosecution service in the context of the country visit to Czechia. 

10 

 
                                                 
awareness-raising campaign on foreign bribery, aimed at Czech companies, was also carried 
out92.  

Conflict of interest legislation is being revised after issues with its practical application 
emerged in previous years. Revised legislation on conflicts of interest93 was put forward by 
a  group  of  members  of  Parliament  in  December  2021  and  received  support  from  the  new 
Government (see also below, Section III). The revision considers that the currently applicable 
legislation, which covers all public officials (including ministers, state secretaries, members of 
Parliament,  etc.)94,  needed  to  be  updated  in  particular  to  clarify  the  definition  of  the  actual 
beneficial owner of certain companies or conglomerates95. This also includes a prohibition on 
the acceptance of subsidies and investment incentives by public officials and companies they 
actually own96. The sanctioning mechanism would also be revised, with an increased focus on 
applying mitigating measures before a fine is issued. While the Office for the Supervision of 
the Finances of Political Parties and Movements97 would obtain additional powers to monitor 
cases  in  relation  to  media  ownership,  no  changes  to  the  supervision  regime  are  planned,98 
despite a recommendation from GRECO in that respect99. The draft legislation is still in the 
parliamentary process. 

The asset declaration regime is currently under revision to bring it into compliance with 
a  2020  Constitutional  Court  ruling.  While  revised  provisions  on  asset  declarations  were 
initially  included  in  the  draft  conflict  of  interest  legislation  (see  above)100,  members  of 
Parliament decided to split off provisions on asset declarations and pass them in a separate bill, 
due to the lenghty parliamentary process on the main bill101. This separate bill,  which aims to 
accommodate the 2020 ruling of the Constitutional Court on asset declarations, was passed by 
the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in June 2022 and is now awaiting signature by the 
President102. The bill would set out rules on access and transparency of the declarations for the 
public,  mainly  by  including  a  prior  request  before  being  granted  access  to  the  register  of 
declarations. A further extension of the reporting obligations (such as declarations  of spouses 

92   Supreme State Prosecutor, Foreign Bribery.  
93   Chamber of Deputies, Parliament Bill 110 – Amendment to the Conflict of Interest Act.  
94   Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 12-13. 
95   Chamber  of  Deputies,  Parliament  Bill  110  –  Amendment  to  the  Conflict  of  Interest  Act  -  Explanatory 

Memorandum. 

96   Chamber  of  Deputies,  Parliament  Bill  110  –  Amendment  to  the  Conflict  of  Interest  Act  -  Explanatory 

Memorandum. 

97   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 10. 
98   Chamber  of  Deputies,  Parliament  Bill  110  –  Amendment  to  the  Conflict  of  Interest  Act  -  Explanatory 

Memorandum. 

99   GRECO recommends ‘giving an independent monitoring mechanism the clear mandate, powers and adequate 
resources to verify in depth the declarations submitted, to investigate irregularities and to initiate proceedings 
and  impose  effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive  sanctions  if  the  rules  are  violated.’  GRECO  Fourth 
Evaluation Round - Interim Compliance Report, recommendation v, paras. 28-35.  

100  Obligations  on  asset  declaration  changed  following  a  Constitutional  Court  ruling  –  see  2021  Rule  of  Law 

Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 10. 

101  Chamber of Deputies, Parliament Bill 192. See also iRozhlas, ‘It distributes billions in subsidies, but is not 

covered by change in the law on conflict of interest. That will change, say MPs’. 

102  2021 Rule of  Law Report,  Country  Chapter on the  rule of law situation in  Czechia, p. 10. Although in its 
judgment Pl. US 4/17 of 11 February 2020 the Constitutional Court rejected the claim to strike down parts of 
the  Act  No.  159/2006,  on  Conflict  of  Interests,  the  Court  criticised  several  of  its  provision  for  their 
unenforceability. Explanatory Report to Parliament Bill 110, p. 9 and Explanatory Report to Parliament Bill 
192, p. 4-5. 

11 

 
                                                 
and dependents) is not taken up in this law103, although a GRECO recommendation on this 
topic remains outstanding104.  

Ethics rules for civil servants are being reviewed while a comprehensive ethics framework 
for both chambers of the Parliament remains lacking. As mentioned in the 2021 Rule of 
Law Report, there are no codes of ethics in place, and a comprehensive framework is lacking 
in relation to gifts and benefits for members of Parliament105. The draft of the revised Code of 
Ethics for Members of the Chamber of Deputies, a code of conduct which has been debated in 
the  Parliament  since  2020106,  was  not  approved  and  lapsed  following  the  end  of  the 
parliamentary term. Since the beginning of the new parliamentary term, no further activity on 
this issue has been noted107. The Senate remains without a Code of Ethics, nor are there any 
current plans to establish one108. The recommendations from GRECO to adopt a Code of Ethics 
in both chambers of Parliament thus remain unfulfilled109. The existing Code of Ethics for the 
civil  service  is  under  review,  with  the  aim  to  make  it  more  easily  understandable  and 
practicable110.  

Post-employment rules are in place for a limited number of civil servant positions and 
some parts of the Government but could be improved and better monitored. Overall, rules 
on ‘revolving doors’ remain unchanged. A limited number of civil service positions111 have a 
mandatory one-year cooling-off period from working in the same sector. This concerns mostly 
positions dealing with sensitive matters such as public procurement for certain sectors112. While 
the  existing  law  on  conflicts  of  interest  provides  for  a  one-year  cooling-off  period  for 
Government members and top-level positions before taking up roles with a company that has 
had Government contracts in the past three years, it relies on the same sanctioning mechanism 
as  conflicts  of  interest  issues,  which  is  currently  being  revised.  The  existing  register  of 
governmental contracts, in which it is compulsory for government institutions to publish the 
contracts  they  conclude113,  continues  to  be  cited  as  a  good  practice  that  facilitates  overall 
transparency and the discovery of irregularities114. 

103  Chamber  of  Deputies,  Parliament  Bill  110  –  Amendment  to  the  Conflict  of  Interest  Act  -  Explanatory 
Memorandum and Chamber of Deputies, Explanatory Report to Parliament Bill 192, p. 4-5; Contribution from 
Glopolis for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. This issue was the subject of a recommendation from GRECO 
Fourth Evaluation Round  - Interim Compliance  Report,  recommendation iii, paras. 18-22 and contribution 
from GRECO for the 2022 Rule of Law report. 

104  GRECO  Fourth  Evaluation  Round  –  Interim  Compliance  report,  recommendation  iii,  paras.  18-22  and 

contribution from GRECO for the 2022 Rule of Law report. 

105  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 9. 
106  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 9. 
107  Written contribution received from the Czech Parliament in the context of the country visit to Czechia. 
108  Written contribution received from the Czech Parliament in the context of the country visit to Czechia.  
109  GRECO Fourth Evaluation Round – Interim Compliance report, Czechia , recommendation ii, paras. 13-17 

and contribution from GRECO for the 2022 Rule of Law report. 

110  The redrafted code could include case studies or an advisory commission for civil servants on ethical issues, 
but drafting remains ongoing. Information received from the Ministry of Interior in the context of the country 
visit to Czechia. 

111  Currently 44 positions across the civil service fall under these rules. See input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule 

of Law Report, p. 9. 

112  Input  from  Czechia  for the 2022 Rule of  Law  Report,  p. 9 and  Information received from the  Ministry of 

Internal Affairs in the context of the country visit to Czechia. 

113  2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 9. 
114  Information received from Frank Bold in the context of the country visit to Czechia. 

12 

 
                                                 
The proposed legislation on lobbying was not adopted before the parliamentary elections 
and  the  new  Government  is  yet  to  propose  similar  legislation.  The  proposed  lobbying 
regulation, as referred to in the 2021 Rule of Law Report115, was not adopted before the end of 
the  Parliamentary  term  in  October  2021,  and  therefore  lapsed116.  Similar  draft  legislation, 
including a legislative footprint and a transparency register117, is expected to be re-submitted 
to the new Government for its approval by the end of December 2022118. Some stakeholders 
have raised doubts regarding the Government’s commitment in this regard119, notably as the 
new Government’s programme statement did not explicitly include a mention of this pending 
revision120 Concerns have been raised that in the absence of such legislation, the transparency 
of contacts with lobbyists remains low121.  

Political  party  financing  legislation  is  in  place,  though  challenges  remain  with 
implementation in practice. Extensive legislation on political party financing is in place and 
is broadly applied122. Issues remain, however, with the verification of donations limits and the 
monitoring  of  advertising  rules  being  particularly  challenging123.  The  Office  for  the 
Supervision  of  the  Finances  of  Political  Parties  and  Movements  is  planning  to  conduct  an 
analysis of gaps in the legislation of political party financing by the end of this year and to 
propose further steps124.  

Amendments to the Constitution to strengthen the Supreme Audit Office have not been 
approved. The constitutional amendments, as discussed in the 2021 Rule of Law Report, were 
voted  down  in  the  Senate  (after  previous  approval  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies)125.  The 
legislation would have extended the mandate of the Supreme Audit Office, allowing it to also 
audit  the  public  spending  of  local  governments  and  state-owned  companies  (i.e.  majority-
owned or controlled by the state or a local government)126. The re-submission of legislation to 
extend the mandate has been included in the new Government programme127. No changes are 
foreseen regarding political nominations at state-owned enterprises128, despite criticism in that 
regard, as reported in the 2021 Rule of Law Report129. The independent Personnel Nomination 

115  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 9. 
116  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 23-24. 
117  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 9. 
118  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 23-24 and Czech Government, Legislative Work 
Plan for 2022, p. 23. Czechia has committed to approving this legislation under its Recovery and Resilience 
Plan. See European Commission, Annex to the Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision on the approval 
of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Czechia, pp. 129-130. 

119  Transparency  International  (2022),  Anti-corruption  priorities  of  the  Czech  Government  of  Transparency 
International  2022/2023  and  information  received  from  Transparency  International  in  the  context  of  the 
country visit to Czechia. 

120  Czech Government (2022), Government Program Statement – Justice and Law. 
121  GRECO  Fourth  Evaluation  Round  –  Interim  Compliance  Report,  recommendation  i,  paras.  7-12  and 

contribution from GRECO for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

122  2021  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law  situation  in  Czechia,  p.  10  and  input  from 

Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 10-11. 

123  Information received from the Office for the Supervision of the Finances of Political Parties and Movements 

in the context of the country visit to Czechia.  

124  Information received from the Office for the Supervision of the Finances of Political Parties and Movements 

in the context of the country visit to Czechia. 

125  Information received from the Supreme Audit Office in the context of the country visit to Czechia. 
126  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 11. 
127  Czech Government (2022), Government Program Statement – Legislation.  
128  Written contribution received from the Personnel Nomination Committee in the context of the country visit to 

Czechia.  

129  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 11. 

13 

 
                                                 
Committee  indicates  current  rules  ensure  both  transparent  and  public  selection  of  persons 
representing the state in the management and supervisory bodies of these companies130.  

A reform of the whistleblower protection legislation is ongoing. As the revised legislation, 
aiming to transpose the EU Whistleblower Directive,131 was not approved in Parliament before 
the end of its term, it lapsed132. The revised legislation is expected to be re-approved by the 
government during 2022, with slight amendments compared to the previous draft reforms, in 
particular relating to the scope of crimes covered133, after which it will have to be taken up by 
Parliament.  

Corruption-risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic are being audited and analysed. An 
internal audit in the health sector in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic helped identify a 
new approach to mitigating corruption risks for the Ministry of Health134. The Court of Audit 
is  also  looking  into  the  Government’s  COVID-19  response.  An  initial  audit  found  signs  of 
inefficiencies, a decrease in transparency in the purchase of personal protective equipment135 
and  chaos  and  improvisation  in  the  construction  of  IT  systems  to  manage  the  pandemic136. 
Further audits are ongoing on the pay-out  of a  Government  bonus linked to  the COVID-19 
measures137. 

III.  MEDIA PLURALISM AND MEDIA FREEDOM 

Freedom of expression and the right to information are guaranteed by the Czech Charter of 
Fundamental  Rights  and  Basic  Freedoms.  The  Act  on  Radio  and  Television  Broadcasting, 
guarantees  the  independence  of  the  Czech  media  regulator  while  the  Czech  Television  Act 
provides the framework for the supervision and independence of Czech public service media. 
The  Act  on  Free  Access  to  Information138  regulates  access  to  information  held  by  public 
authorities139.  

The  independence  of  the  media  regulator,  the  Council  for  Radio  and  Television 
Broadcasting,  is  expected to be    strengthened  via pending amendements to the Act on 
Radio  and  Television  Broadcasting.  The  reform  geared  at,  among  others,  transposing  the 
AVMS Directive140 including by a strengthening of the independence of the media regulator, 
scheduled for August 2020141 was not approved by the Parliament before the end of its term, 

130  Written contribution received from the Personnel Nomination Committee in the context of the country visit to 

Czechia. 

131  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 11. 
132  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 8-9. 
133  Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Czechia. Czechia has 
committed to approving this legislation under its Recovery and Resilience Plan. See European Commission, 
Annex to the Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision on the approval of the assessment of the recovery 
and resilience plan for Czechia, p.129- 130. It also needs to transpose Commission Regulation 2019/1939.  

134  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 14. 
135  Czech Republic Supreme Audit Office (2022), Press release on Audit No 20/32. 
136 Czech Republic Supreme Audit Office (2022), Press release on Audit No 21/35. 
137  Written contribution received from the Czech Court of Audit in the context of the country visit to Czechia.  
138 A draft act amending the Act and transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1024 on open data and the re-use  of public 

sector information was submitted to the Czech Parliament for approval in May 2022. 

139  Czechia ranks 20th in the 2022 Reporters without Borders World Press Freedom Index compared to 40th in 

the previous year. 

140 Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of 14 November 2018. On 19 May 2022 the Commission decided to refer Czechia 

to the Court of Justice of the European Union over its failure to transpose the Directive. 
141  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 12. 

14 

 
                                                 
and  consequently  lapsed142.  The  new  Government  subsequently  submitted  a  very  similar 
proposal to Parliament143. The proposed amendments144 would eliminate the role of the Prime 
Minister  in  the  nomination  and  dismissal  of  Council  members  as  they  would  place    both 
procedures fully in the hands of the Chamber of Deputies. The reform would simultaneously 
limit the power of the Chamber of Deputies in the sense that only the dismissal of individual 
Council members would be possible, thereby strengthening the independence of the Council 
as a body. Furthermore, the amendments would require the Parliament to provide substantiated 
reasons for any dismissal decision and would expressly provide for a right of reply and a right 
of defense before the Chamber of Deputies for any member facing dismissal.  

Concerns  voiced  with  regard  to  the  selection  process  and  the  independence  of  the 
members of the Czech TV supervisory board145 have led to calls for an overhaul of the 
relevant provisions of the Czech Television Act146. Under the Act, the supervisory functions 
of Czech public service media television and radio are the responsibility, respectively, of the 
Czech Television Council (15 members) and the Czech Radio Council (nine members). Under 
the current legislation Council members are appointed for a 6-year term by the Chamber of 
Deputies following nominations made by ‘organizations and associations representing cultural, 
regional,  social,  trade  union,  employer,  religious,  educational,  scientific,  environmental  and 
national  interests’147.  The  Councils,  by  qualified  majority,  appoint  the  relevant  Directors-
General whose salaries are subject to Council approval. The Directors-General must seek the 
relevant  Council’s  approval  when  appointing  studio  directors  and  must  consult  the  Council 
prior to filling or vacating senior management positions. The Councils may remove a Director-
General from office by a two-thirds majority if, in the opinion of the Council, he or she has not 
ensured the fulfilment of the broadcaster’s public service role. While the Act ensures editorial 
independence by expressly stipulating that the Councils shall have no say in programming148, 
the  current  system  does  not  prevent  the  political  majority  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  via 
political influence over the Councils, from securing the dismissal of a Director-General. A bill 
currently under discussion would distribute nominations to the relevant Councils between the 
Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Law No. 348/2005 governs the funding of Czech public 
service media which is, apart from advertising revenues, largely dependent on a fee levied on 
households. It has been pointed out that the amount of the fee, which has not been revised since 
2008, will not  provide sufficient  funding  going  forward unless  it is  raised149 . Due to  these 
concerns, the Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) 2022 now considers the independence of public 
service media governance and funding to be an area presenting high risk150. 

142  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 18. 
143  Ibid. 
144  Government Bill on Video Sharing Platform Services and amending certain related acts, part of the Czech 
Republic’s transposition of Directive (EU) 2018/1808 on Audiovisual Media Services. Chamber of Deputies 
Print no. 30, https://www.psp.cz/sqw/text/historie.sqw?o=9&T=30.   

145  The concerns were well documented here: European Broadcasting Union (2021), ‘Public service media in the 
Czech  Republic  under  threat’;  International  Press  Institute  (2021),  ‘Concerns  over  increased  meddling  in 
independence of Czech public broadcaster’; Public Media Alliance, (2021), ‘The threat facing Czech TV’; 
2021 Media Pluralism Monitor, Czech Republic, p. 12.  

146  Act No. 483/1991.  
147  Art. 4(2) of the Act No. 483/1991; Art. 4(2) of the Act No. 484/1991. 
148  An internal Code of Conduct secures editorial independence within the organisations.  
149  Information received in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Director General of the Czech 

Television. 

150 2022 Media Pluralism Monitor, Czech Republic, p.13-14.  

15 

 
                                                 
Reforms  have  partially  addressed  concerns  relating  to  lack  of    media  ownership 
transparency . The reforms introduced in 2021151 which guarantee public access, via a registry 
held by the Ministry of Justice, to a limited amount of ownership information, and establish 
mechanisms enabling certain authorities to sanction the absence of required data are considered 
to  only  partially  address  the  issue.  Given  that  the  system  obliges  companies  to  provide 
information  about  their  ultimate  owners  does  not  provide  for  disclosure  of  full  ownership 
structures to the general public, outside of the Public Register of Corporate Entities, the Media 
Pluralism  Monitor  (MPM)  2022  once  more  considers  this  as  a  high  risk  area,  albeit  with  a 
reduced risk level152. Currently the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting does not 
have access to the entirety of the data held by the Ministry of Justice and has asked for a remedy 
thereto153.  High  concentration  continues  to  characterise  different  media  sub-sectors,  in 
particular the regional daily press market154.  

Concerns persist with regard to political independence of the media due to the conflation 
of  political  and  media  interests.  This  has  mainly  concerned  the  former  Prime  Minister’s 
media interests as well as certain other media owners who have either been active in politics 
or  who  have  openly  declared  their  political  ambitions155.  In  the  case  of  the  former  Prime 
Minister, though his company Agrofert has been in a trust fund since 2017, he is nonetheless 
still regarded as its beneficial owner156. With a view to addressing this problem, a group of 
MPs representing the governing political parties have drafted an amendment to the Conflict of 
Interest Act157 (see also above, Section II) which would strengthen the current conditions and 
preventing  active  politicians  from  any  form  of  involvement  in  print  or  audio-visual  media 
business exceeding certain revenue thresholds158. Furthermore, the fact that there are no rules 
ensuring transparency in state advertising exacerbates suspicions of favouritism by state-owned 
companies to media close to the government159. 

Support for the needs of journalists and their working conditions is missing while legal 
and verbal harassment of journalists remains part of the political landscape. The alerts 
registered  since the publication of the last rule of law report and published by the Council of 
Europe Platform to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists, concern 
a defamation case lodged by the former Deputy Prime Minister against a media house, a verbal 
attack on a journalist by the former Prime Minister on the campaign trail, a criminal complaint 
lodged against an editor and a cyber attack against a news website160. According to the Media 
Pluralism  Monitor,  the  main  professional  association  representing  journalists,  the  Czech 

151 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p.12-13. 
152 2022 Media Pluralism Monitor, Czech Republic, p.11.  
153  Written contribution from the Council  for Radio and Television Broadcasting in the context of the country 

visit.  

154  The Czech media market is dominated by a handful of media houses involved in print, broadcasting as well as 
online  sectors.  The  level  of  concentration  is  particularly  striking  in  the  (economically  most  vulnerable) 
regional media market, with the segment of the regional daily press being effectively monopolized. See 2021 
Media Pluralism Monitor, Czech Republic, p. 10. 
155  2022 Media Pluralism Monitor, Czech Republic, p.13. 
156  Final report on the audit of the functioning of the management and control systems in place to avoid conflict 
of interest in Czechia, carried out by the Commission’s Directorates-General for Regional and Urban Policy 
and Employment, Inclusion and Social Affairs, published in 2021. 

157  Act No. 159/2006. 
158  Written input provided by the Czech authorities for the 2022 Rule of Law Report.  
159  2022 Media Pluralism Monitor, Czech Republic, p.13. 
160  Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists, the Czech 

Republic. 

16 

 
                                                 
Syndicate of Journalists, is weak, meaning that ‘the necessary support for the specific needs of 
journalists and their working conditions is missing’.161. Unlike most sectors of the economy, 
the media sector did not receive relief funding from the COVID-19 recovery fund established 
by the government.  

IV.  OTHER INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES RELATED TO CHECKS AND BALANCES 

Czechia  has  a  bicameral  parliamentary  system  of  government162  with  a  directly  elected 
President. Legislative proposals can be submitted by a member of the Chamber of Deputies, a 
group of members of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the Government, or representative 
bodies  of  higher  self-governing  regions163.  The  Constitutional  Court  can  carry  out  ex-post 
constitutional review. In addition to the justice system, the Ombudsperson’s Office and civil 
society play a role in the system of checks and balances. 

The number of acts adopted in accelerated legislative procedure has decreased. Between 
February 2021 and November 2021, out of total 74 approved acts 11 acts were adopted in the 
shortened emergency legislative procedure and 10 acts were adopted in a fast-track legislative 
procedure164, which represents a decrease in comparison to the 60 acts adopted in the shortened 
emergency  legislative  procedure  during  the  last  reporting  period165.  As  in  the  preceding 
reporting period, some of these acts were not related to the COVID-19 pandemic166.  

On 1 January 2022, Czechia had two leading judgments of the European Court of Human 
Rights pending implementation167. At that time, Czechia’s rate of leading judgments from 
the past 10 years that remained pending was only at 5% and the average time that the judgments 
had been pending implementation was 7 years and 8 months168. This figure is influenced by a 
case  pending  implementation  for  14  years,  which  concerns  discrimination  in  education  of 
Roma children169. On 1 July 2022, the number of leading judgments pending implementation 
remains two170. 

161 2022 Media Pluralism Monitor, Czech Republic, p. 10.  
162  Composed of the lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies and the higher chamber, the Senate.  
163  Constitution of Czechia, Art. 41. 
164  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 26. 
165  Out of the total 128 approved acts between January 2020 and mid-February 2021. 2021 Rule of Law Report, 
Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law  situation  in  Czechia,  p.  14.  In  2022,  several  acts  were  enacted  in  the 
emergency  legislative  procedure  in  reaction  to  the  influx  of  refugees  from  Ukraine  and  in  reaction  to  the 
economic situation.  

166  Information 

collected 

from 

the 

website 

of 

the 

Chamber 

of 

Deputies 

https://www.psp.cz/sqw/sntisk.sqw?o=8&F=N. 

167  The  adoption of necessary execution  measures  for a  judgment  by the  European  Court of Human  Rights is 
supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It is the Committee’s practice to group 
cases against a State requiring similar execution measures, particularly general measures, and examine them 
jointly. The first case in the group is designated as the leading case as regards the supervision of the general 
measures and repetitive cases within the group can be closed when it is assessed that all possible individual 
measures needed to provide redress to the applicant have been taken. 

168  All figures are calculated by the European Implementation Network and are based on the number of cases that 
are considered pending at the annual cut-off date of 1 January 2022. See the Contribution from the European 
Implementation Network for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 36.  

169  Judgment  of  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  of  13  November  2007,  D.H.  and  Others  v.  the  Czech 

Republic, 57325/00, pending implementation since 2007.  

170 Data according to the online database of the Council of Europe (HUDOC). 

17 

 
                                                 
Validity of the Pandemic Act has been extended until November 2022 after public debate. 
Following several extensions and declaration of states of emergency in 2020 and early 2021171, 
the Government declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic again as of 26 
November 2021. It lasted until 25 December 2021. Another state of emergency was declared 
as of 4 March 2022 in reaction to the situation of the large number of refugees arriving from 
Ukraine172. The Pandemic Act, adopted in February 2021, as reported in the 2021 Rule of Law 
Report173, was reviewed by the Constitutional Court174, which upheld the majority of the Act175. 
The sections of the Act which regulate extraordinary measures were originally valid only until 
28 February 2022, however after political discussions176, their validity was extended until 30 
November 2022177. The Act contains a list of measures which may be adopted to address the 
COVID-19 pandemic178 if a “state of pandemic emergency” is declared179, and sets forth the 
conditions of their judicial review180. The state of pandemic emergency was declared from 27 
February 2021 to 5 May 2022181. 

Judicial review of pandemic measures has continued, and an audit was conducted by the 
Ministry  of  Health  to  identify  shortcomings  in  the  process  of  their  adoption.  The 
administrative  courts,  the  Supreme  Administrative  Court  and  the  Constitutional  Court  have 
continued to review measures and laws enacted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic182. 
Several measures were annulled, chiefly due to lack of proper justification of the measure and 
a lack of competence for its adoption. Courts also found that certain measures were re-enacted 
immediately after having been struck down, without remedying the identified shortcomings183. 
In reaction to a high number of measures declared unlawful by courts, the Ministry of Health 
conducted  an internal  audit to  analyse the process of drafting of the measures184. The audit 
concluded in August 2021 found that the process of adoption of measures lacked methodology 

171  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 14-15.  
172  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 14-15. The state of emergency was declared in order 
to  enable  the  police  and  state  administration  to  process  faster  the  support  to  and  registrations  of  the  large 
number of refugees arriving from Ukraine, without limiting human rights and freedoms.  On 29 March 2022 
and again on 19 May 2022 the Chamber of Deputies agreed to the extension of the state of emergency.  

173  2021 Rule of law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 15. 
174  Judgment of the Constitutional Court of 7 December 2022, No. Pl. ÚS 20/21. 
175  The Constitutional Court struck down a part of the law regarding the determination of damages provided for 
measures  related  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic.  For  further  information  see  also  Contribution  from  the 
Conference of European Constitutional Courts for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 14. 

176  The draft was subject to obstructions in the Chamber of Deputies and rejected by the Senate. The Chamber of 
Deputies then overruled the Senate’s rejection. Senators criticised among others the fact that the Chamber of 
Deputies adopted the Act in a state of legislative emergency. Speech of Senator Holasek, rapporteur of the 
Opinion of the Constitutional Committee of the Senate, during the discussion in the Senate of 10 February 
2022. 

177  Act No. 39/2022, amending Act No. 94/2021. The Amendment was challenged before the Constitutional Court 

by a group of Members of the Parliament, the proceedings are pending.  

178  Sec. 2 of Act No. 94/2021 on extraordinary measures during the COVID-19 disease.  
179  The  state of pandemic emergency is declared and recalled by the Chamber of Deputies on proposal of the 

Government or 1/5 of the Members of the Chamber of Deputies. Sec 1(3) of Act No. 94/2021. 

180  Depending on the authority which adopted them, the measures can be reviewed by the Supreme Administrative 
Court or an administrative court. The proceedings can continue even after the measure in question has been 
changed or cancelled. Sec. 13 of the Act No. 94/2021; Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, 
p. 28. 

181  Information received from the Ministry of Health. 
182  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 28. 
183  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 29. 
184  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 28 - 32. 

18 

 
                                                 
and  pointed  to  issues  of  competency.  It  also  concluded  that  judgments  of  the  Supreme 
Administrative Court were not always respected185.  

The  projects  ‘eCollection’  and  ‘eLegislation’,  which  have  suffered  from  delays,  are 
ongoing. The projects aim to set up portals, which would enable easier control and participation 
in the legislative process186. As already reported in the 2021 Rule of Law Report187, they were 
delayed due to the state of emergency and to the impact of restrictions related to the COVID-
19  pandemic  but  continue.  When  operational,  they  will  increase  the  transparency  of  the 
legislative drafting and amendment process, make it fully digitalised and make accessible both 
the consolidated and amended versions of promulgated legislation and other related documents 
to the public188. The projects are expected to be fully operational from 1 January 2024. 

No steps have been made towards acting on recommendations for the establishment of a 
National  Human  Rights  Institution  (NHRI)  compliant  with  the  Paris  principles.  As 
already reported in the 2020 Rule of Law Report189, despite recommendations from the UN 
Universal Periodic Review (UPR)190, Czechia has not yet established a national human rights 
institution (NHRI) in line with the Paris Principles. There are no specific plans in this regard 
by the Government191. The Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsperson) performs some of the 
duties  of  a  NHRI192.  However,  it  does  not  have  the  broad  mandate  to  promote  and  protect 
human rights as required by the Paris Principles193. Stakeholders reiterated194 concerns over 
statements and conduct of the current Public Defender of Rights, in particular regarding Roma 
or LGBTIQ people195. The draft law on the Defender of Children´s Rights, mentioned in the 
2021 Rule of Law Report196, was not adopted in time before the end of the legislative period 
in autumn 2021. The Government has no current plans to submit a new proposal197.  

Work is ongoing to enhance the participation of civil society in policy-making processes. 
Stakeholders reported that professional and business organisations are regularly consulted in 
the  decision-making  process198,  while  involvement  of  civil  society  organisations  (CSOs)  is 

185  Written contribution from the Ministry of Health in the context of the country visit.  
186  The eLegislation project brings new drafting tools and procedures into the process of drafting, discussing and 
promulgating primary and secondary  legislation.  At the end of the drafting process, these tools update  the 
database of the eCollection, which provides verified texts of Czech legislation and its consolidated versions. 
The project is co-funded by EU funds.  

187  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 15. 
188  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p.  24 and information provided in the context of the 

country visit to Czechia from the Ministry of Interior. 

189  2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 13.  
190  Recommendations received in November 2017 and adopted by the Human Rights Council in March 2018.  
191  Information provided in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Office of the Government. 
192  Contribution from the European Network of National Human  Rights Institutions for the 2022 Rule of Law 
Report, p. 187 ;Contribution from proFem – Center for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence for the 2022 
Rule of Law Report, p. 18.  

193  Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions.  
194  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 16. 
195  Contribution from the European Civic Forum for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 20; Contribution  from  the 
Network  for  Protection  of  Democracy  for  the  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  18;  Contribution  from  ILGA-
Europe for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 8; Contribution from Glopolis for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, 
pp. 25-26, 29.  

196  2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Czechia, p. 15.  
197  Information provided in the context of the country visit to Czechia from the Office of the Government.  
198  Information  received  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Czechia  from  the  Czech  Union  of  Judges,  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  Supreme  Administrative  Court,  Czech  Union  of  Public  Prosecutors  and  the  Bar 
Association. 

19 

 
                                                 
much  less  systematic199.  The  Strategy  for  Cooperation  between  Public  Administration  and 
NGOs  from  July  2021200  contains  concrete  measures  to  support  effective  partnership  and 
cooperation between public administration and the non-profit sector. A public consultation was 
organised  in  January  2022  on  a  draft  methodology  for  the  participation  of  civil  society 
representatives in advisory and working bodies of the government and in the development of 
state  administration  documents.  The  main  goal  of  the  methodology  is  to  contribute  to  the 
effective  use  of  participatory  processes  within  advisory  and  working  bodies  and  in  the 
development  of  public  policies,  strategic  materials,  legislative  and  other  non-legislative 
materials by individual ministries and other central administrative authorities. Following the 
approval  of  the  finalized  methodology  by  the  Government  Council  of  NGOs,  selected 
ministries will carry out its validation until the end of 2024201.  

Concerns have been expressed regarding  obstacles to accessing public funding by civil 
society  organisations.  While  the  general  regulatory  framework  for  freedom  of  association, 
expression and assembly is set-out and implemented fairly202, the space for civil society has 
been downgraded from open to narrowed over concerns over declining media independence203. 
Certain stakeholders report obstacles in access to public funding for certain types of CSOs, in 
particular those engaged in environmental, rule of law, LGBTIQ or asylum-related issues and 
advocacy.  They  consider  that  there  is  a  high  administrative  burden  which  creates  further 
obstacles  to  access  public  funding,  and  that  the  termination  of  a  tax  exemption  for  entities 
carrying out public benefit activities also limits funding204. Negative public discourse, targeting 
in  particular  CSOs  raising  awareness  of  developments  linked  to  conflict  of  interest  and 
corruption, or LGBTIQ activists, has also been reported205.  

199  Contribution  from  the  European  Civic  Forum  for  the  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  22;  Contribution  from 

Glopolis for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 24.  

200  Czech Government (2021), Strategy of cooperation of public administration with non-governmental non-profit 

organizations for the years 2021 to 2030, July 2021.  

201  Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 40.  
202  Contribution from European Civic Forum for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 21.  
203  Rating  given  by  CIVICUS.  Ratings  are  on  a  five-category  scale  defined  as:  open,  narrowed,  obstructed, 

repressed and closed.  

204  Contribution from the European Civic Forum for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 21-22; Contribution from 
Glopolis for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 28; Contribution from the Organisation for Aid to Refugees for 
the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 20; Contribution from proFem – Center for Victims of Domestic and Sexual 
Violence for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 19.  

205  Contribution  from  Glopolis  for  the  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  28;  Contribution  from  Síť  na  ochranu 
demokracie for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 20; Contribution from European Civic Forum for the 2022 
Rule of Law Report, p. 6; Contribution from ILGA-Europe for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 9. 

20 

 
                                                 
Annex I: List of sources in alphabetical order* 

* The list of contributions received in the context of the consultation for the 2022 Rule of Law report 
can  be  found  at  https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/2022-rule-law-report-targeted-stakeholder-
consultation_en.  

Associated  Press  (2022),  Former  Czech  Prime  Minister  Babiš 
indicted 
https://apnews.com/article/europe-andrej-babis-prague-indictments-european-union-
984f8b8d12ceb2f2d0e00899759d80ee. 

in 

fraud  case 

Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (2021), Media pluralism monitor 2021 – country report 
on 
https://cmpf.eui.eu/mpm2021-
results/#:~:text=The%20Media%20Pluralism%20Monitor%202021%20%28MPM2021%29%20is%2
0a,2020.%20This%20is%20the%20fourth%20MPM%20EU-wide%20implementation. 

Czechia 

Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (2022), Media pluralism monitor 2022 – country report 
on Czechia. 

Česká  justice  (2022),  College  of  Court  Presidents:  Amendment  of  the  Act  on  courts  and  judges 
complicated the selection of new presidents (Kolegium šéfů soudů: Novela zákona o soudech a soudcích 
znemožňuje  výběr  nových  předsedů)  https://www.ceska-justice.cz/2022/04/kolegium-sefu-soudu-
novela-zakona-o-soudech-a-soudcich-znemoznuje-vyber-novych-predsedu/. 

Česká televize (2022), Zeman justified his pardon: Balak did not get rich from the Lanska Obora case 
(Balák 
Zeman  milost) 
https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/domaci/3467040-balak-se-v-pripadu-lanske-obory-neobohatil-zduvodnil-
zeman-milost. 

neobohatil, 

zdůvodnil 

případu 

Lánské 

obory 

se 

v 

Chamber of Deputies, Parliament bill 110 – Amendment to the conflict of interest act (Sněmovní tisk 
110 - Novela z. o střetu zájmů) https://www.psp.cz/sqw/historie.sqw?o=9&T=110. 

Chamber of Deputies, Parliament bill 110 – Amendment to the conflict of interest act – Explanatory 
-  duvode  zpravy) 
Memorandum 
https://www.psp.cz/sqw/text/tiskt.sqw?O=9&CT=110&CT1=0. 

-  Novela 

(Sněmovní 

tisk  110 

zájmů 

střetu 

z.  o 

Chamber of Deputies, Parliament bill 192 – Amendment to the conflict of interest act (Sněmovní tisk 
110 - Novela z. o střetu zájmů) https://www.psp.cz/sqw/historie.sqw?t=192. 

Chamber of Deputies, Parliament bill 192 – Amendment to the conflict of interest act – Explanatory 
Memorandum  (Sněmovní  tisk  192/0  -  Novela  z.  o  střetu  zájmů  –  RJ  –  duvode  zpravy) 
https://www.psp.cz/sqw/text/tiskt.sqw?O=9&CT=192&CT1=0.  

Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2010),  Recommendation  CM/Rec(2010)12  of  the 
Committee of Ministers to member states on judges: independence, efficiency and responsibilities. 

Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists – Czech 
Republic https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte?years=2022&typeData=1&time=1653914309287.  

Council of Europe: Venice Commission (2010),  Report on the Independence of the Judicial System 
Part II: The Prosecution Service (CDL-AD(2010)004). 

Council of Europe: Venice Commission (2016), Rule of Law Checklist (CDL-AD(2016)007). 

Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (2022), Written contribution from the Council for Radio 
and Television Broadcasting for the 2022 Rule of Law Report in the context of the country visit. 

CIVICUS, Monitor tracking civic space – Czech Republic https://monitor.civicus.org/country/czech-
republic/. 

Czech Constitutional Court, judgment of 7 December 2022, Pl. ÚS 20/21. 

Czech Court of Audit (2022), EU Report 2021 - Report on the EU Financial Management in the Czech 
Republic https://www.nku.cz/assets/publications-documents/eu-report/eu-report-2021-en.pdf. 

21 

 
Czech Court of Audit (2022), Written contribution from the Czech Court of Audit for the 2022 Rule of 
Law Report in the context of the country visit. 

Czech Government (2021),  Strategy of cooperation of public administration with non-governmental 
non-profit organizations for the years 2021 to 2030 (Strategie spolupráce veřejné správy s nestátními 
2030) 
až 
neziskovými 
https://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/rnno/dokumenty/Strategie_NNO_2021_2030.pdf.  

organizacemina 

2021 

léta 

Czech  Government 
Justice 
(2022),  Government  Program 
https://www.vlada.cz/cz/programove-prohlaseni-vlady-193547/#spravedlnost_a_pravo. 

Statement 

– 

and  Law 

Czech 
https://www.vlada.cz/cz/programove-prohlaseni-vlady-193547/#legislativa. 

Government 

Government 

Program 

(2022), 

Statement 

– 

Legislation 

Czech Government (2022), Input from Czechia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report.  

Czech  Government  (2022),  Program  manifesto  of 
https://www.vlada.cz/cz/jednani-vlady/programove-prohlaseni/programove-prohlaseni-vlady-
193547/. 

the  Government  of  7  January  2022 

Czech  Government,  Anti-Corruption  Strategy  https://korupce.cz/protikorupcni-dokumenty-vlady/na-
leta-2018-az-2022/. 

Czech  Government 
https://apps.odok.cz/attachment/-/down/NANACE58UGS3. 

(2022),  Legislative  Work 

Plan 

for 

2022, 

322/2022, 

Czech Parliament (2022), Written contribution from the Czech Parliament for the 2022 Rule of Law 
Report in the context of the country visit. 

Czech  Republic  Supreme  Audit  Office 
https://www.nku.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=11761. 

(2022),  Press 

release  on  Audit  No  20/32 

Czech  Republic  Supreme  Audit  Office 
https://www.nku.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=12508.  

(2022),  Press 

release  on  Audit  No  21/35 

Czech  Union  of  Judges  (2022),  Statement  of  the  Council  (Prohlášení  Republikové  rady  SU  ČR) 
https://www.soudci.cz/zpravy-a-stanoviska/pohledy-a-nazory/3251-prohlaseni-republikove-rady-su-
cr-z-20--1--2022.html. 

Czech Union of Public Prosecutors (2022), Opinion of the Union of Public Prosecutors on salary cuts 
in 
justici) 
https://www.uniesz.cz/stanovisko-unie-statnich-zastupcu-k-snizovani-platu-v-justici/. 

snižování  platů  v 

(Stanovisko  Unie 

zástupců  ke 

judiciary 

státních 

the 

Directive (EU) 2018/1808 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or 
administrative  action  in  Member  States  concerning  the  provision  of  audiovisual  media  services 
(Audiovisual Media Services Directive) in view of changing market realities. 

Directorate-General  for  Communication  (2019),  Flash  Eurobarometer  482:  businesses’  attitudes 
towards corruption in the EU. 

Directorate-General for Communication (2020), Special Eurobarometer 502: corruption. 

Directorate-General  for  Communication  (2022),  Flash  Eurobarometer  507:  businesses’  attitudes 
towards corruption in the EU. 

Directorate-General for Communication (2022), Special Eurobarometer 523: corruption. 

European Civic Forum (2022), Contribution from the European Civic Forum for the 2022 Rule of Law 
Report. 

EPPO,  Annual  Report  2021  –  Czechia  https://www.eppo.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2022-
03/CH2.6_EPPO-Annual-Report-2021-CZ.pdf.  

European  Broadcasting  Union  (2021),  ‘Public  service  media  in  the  Czech  Republic  under  threat’ 
https://www.ebu.ch/news/2021/04/public-service-media-in-the-czech-republic-under-

22 

 
threat#:~:text=Public%20service%20media%20in%20the%20Czech%20Republic%20under,the%20i
ndependence%20of%20Czech%20Television%20is%20under%20threat.  

European Commission (2020), 2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Czechia. 

European  Commission  (2021),  Annex  to  the  Proposal  for  a  Council  Implementing  Decision  on  the 
approval 
for  Czechia 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/com-2021-431_annexe_en.pdf. 

assessment  of 

resilience 

recovery 

plan 

and 

the 

the 

of 

European Commission (2021), 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Czechia. 

European  Commission  (2021),  Final  report  on  the  audit  of  the  functioning  of  the  management  and 
control systems in place to avoid conflict of interest in Czechia, carried out by Directorates general 
Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO) and Employment, Inclusion and Social Affairs (EMPL). 

European Commission (2022), EU Justice Scoreboard. 

European  Court  of  Human  Rights,  judgment  of  13  November  2007,  D.H.  and  Others  v.  the  Czech 
Republic, 57325/00. 

European Implementation Network (2022), Contribution from the European Implementation Network 
for the 2022 Rule of Law Report.  

European  Network  of  National  Human  Rights  Institution  (ENNHRI)  (2022),  Contribution  from  the 
European Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

Glopolis (2022), Contribution from Glopolis for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

GRECO (2016), Fourth Evaluation Round – Evaluation Report on Czechia on preventing corruption 
in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. 

GRECO  (2020),  Fourth  Evaluation  Round  –  Interim  Compliance  Report  on  Czechia  on  preventing 
corruption 
of  
parliament, judges and prosecutors. 

members 

respect 

of 

in 

GRECO (2022), Contribution from GRECO for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

Holásek Jan, Rapporteur of the Opinion of the Constitutional Committee of the Senate (2022), Speech 
during 
2022 
https://www.senat.cz/xqw/xervlet/pssenat/hlasovani?action=steno&O=13&IS=6880&D=10.02.2022#
b22902.  

discussion 

February 

Senate 

the 

10 

of 

Human  Rights  Council  (2018),  Universal  Period  Review  –  Czechia  https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-
bodies/upr/cz-index.  

ILGA-Europe (2022), Contribution from ILGA-Europe for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

International  Press  Institute  (2021),  ‘Concerns  over  increased  meddling  in  independence  of  Czech 
public  broadcaster’  https://ipi.media/concerns-over-increasing-meddling-in-independence-of-czech-
public-broadcaster/.  

iRozhlas (2022), “It distributes billions in subsidies, but is not covered by change in the law on conflict 
of interest. That will change, say MPs” (Dělí miliardové dotace, mimo zákon ale stojí i po novele ke 
střetu zájmů. Změna bude, slibují poslanci) https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/stret-zajmu-novela-
fond-rozdeluje-miliardy-agrofet-babis_2206030500_tec?utm_source=newsletter-
irozhlas&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-2022-06-03-N4184.  

Ministry of Health (2022), Written contribution from the Ministry of Health for the 2022 Rule of Law 
Report in the context of the country visit. 

23 

 
Ministry of Justice (2018), Government concept of the fight against corruption for the years 2018 to 
2022  (Vládní  koncepce  boje  s  korupcí  na  léta  2018  až  2022)  https://korupce.cz/protikorupcni-
dokumenty-vlady/na-leta-2018-az-2022/2021-2022/. 

Ministry  of  Justice  (2021),  Anti-Corruption  Action  Plan  for  2021  and  2022  (Akční  plán  boje  proti 
korupci  na  roky  2021  a  2022)  https://korupce.cz/protikorupcni-dokumenty-vlady/na-leta-2018-az-
2022/2021-2022/. 

of 

Ministry 
https://justice.cz/documents/12681/719244/Ceske_soudnictvi_2020.pdf/43b3020e-fc02-44a4-bb2c-
a124ce85f57b. 

(2021),  Czech 

2020:  Annual 

statistical 

judiciary 

Justice 

report 

Ministry of Justice, Government Council for the Coordination of the Fight against Corruption (Rada 
vlády pro koordinaci boje s korupcí) https://korupce.cz/rada-vlady/. 

Ministry  of  Justice  (2022),  Evaluation  of  the  implementation  of  the  measures  listed  in  the  Anti-
Corruption Action Plan for 2021 and 2022 https://korupce.cz/protikorupcni-dokumenty-vlady/na-leta-
2018-az-2022/2021-2022/.  

Ministry  of  Regional  Development  (2022),  Written  contribution  from  the  Ministry  of  Regional 
Development for the 2022 Rule of Law Report in the context of the country visit. 

National Organised Crime Agency (2021), Annual Report 2020 https://www.policie.cz/clanek/vyrocni-
zprava-ncoz-2020.aspx. 

Network  for  Protection  of  Democracy  (2022),  Contribution  from  the  Network  for  Protection  of 
Democracy for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

OECD  (2021),  Addendum  to  the  follow-up  to  Phase  4  Report  https://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-
bribery/Czech-Republic-Phase-4-Addendum-to-the-follow-up-report.pdf.  

OLAF  (2022),  OLAF  Annual  Report  2021  https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/system/files/2022-06/olaf-
report-2021_en_3.pdf.  

Organisation for Aid to Refugees (2022), Contribution from the Organisation for Aid to Refugees for 
the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

proFem – Center for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence (2022), Contribution from proFem – 
Center for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence for the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

Public Media Alliance (2021), ‘The threat facing Czech TV’ https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/the-
threat-facing-czech-tv-ceska-
televize/#:~:text=Statement%20The%20threat%20facing%20Czech%20TV%20%28%C4%8Cesk%C
3%A1%20Televize%29,and%20its%20vital%20role%20in%20the%20country%E2%80%99s%20de
mocracy.  

Radio  Prague  International  (2022),  Czech  president  sparks  outrage  with  controversial  pardon,  30 
March 2022 https://english.radio.cz/czech-president-sparks-outrage-controversial-pardon-8746286 /. 

Regulation (EU) 2019/1939 of 7 November 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 582/2011 as regards 
Auxiliary  Emission  Strategies  (AES),  access  to  vehicle  OBD  information  and  vehicle  repair  and 
maintenance  information,  measurement  of  emissions  during  cold  engine  start  periods  and  use  of 
portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS) to measure particle numbers, with respect to heavy 
duty vehicles. 

Reporters without Borders – Czechia https://rsf.org/en/czech-republic. 

Seznam Zprávy, (2022), The prosecutor does not demand imprisonment for Babis. Asks for conditional 
sentence  and  10  million  fine  (Žalobce  nechce  pro  Babiše  vězení.  Stačí  mu  podmínka  a  pokuta  10 
milionů) 
https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domaci-zivot-v-cesku-zalobce-nechce-pro-babise-
vezeni-staci-mu-podminka-a-pokuta-10-milionu-19603. 

Síť na ochranu demokracie (2022), Contribution from Síť na ochranu demokracie for the 2022 Rule of 
Law Report. 

24 

 
Supreme State Prosecutor, Foreign Bribery (Zahraniční podplácení) https://verejnazaloba.cz/nsz/boj-s-
korupci/zahranicni-podplaceni/. 

Transparency  International  (2022),  Anti-corruption  priorities  of  the  Czech  Government  of 
Transparency 
International  2022/2023  https://www.transparency.cz/protikorupcni-priority-ceske-
kancelare-transparency-international-2022-2023/.  

Transparency International (2022), Corruption Perceptions Index 2021. 

Transparency 
https://www.transparency.cz/kauzy/andrej-babis/.  

International  Czechia 

(2022),  Conflict 

of 

Interest 

of  Andrej  Babis 

25 

 
 
Annex II: Country visit to Czechia 

The Commission services held virtual meetings in March 2022 with: 

 Association of Journalists  

International Press Institute  

 
  Czech Bar Association 
  Czech National Committee of International Press Institute 
  Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting  
  Endowment for Independent Journalism  
  European Centre for Press and Media Freedom 
  Financial Analytical Office 
  Frank Bold/Reconstruction of State 
 
  League of Human Rights 
  Ministry of Culture 
  Ministry of Interior 
  Ministry of Justice 
  National Organized Crime Agency 
  Ombudsman 
  Open Government Partnership 
  Prosecutor General's Office  
  Supreme Administrative Court 
  Supreme Audit Office 
  Supreme Court 
  Transparency International Czech Republic 
  Union of Judges  
  Union of Public Prosecutors 

* The Commission also met the following organisations in a number of horizontal meetings:  

  Amnesty International  
  Article 19  
  Civil Liberties Union for Europe 
  Civil Society Europe  
  European Centre for Press and Media Freedom  
  European Civic Forum 
  European Federation of Journalists  
  European Partnership for Democracy 
  European Youth Forum 
  Free Press Unlimited 
  Human Rights Watch  
 
 
 
  Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI) 
  Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa  
  Philea 
  Reporters Without Borders 
  Transparency International Europe 

ILGA Europe 
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) 
International Press Institute 

26